31 December 2009

What it's like to be in favour of a desalination plant in a small coastal town.

By Bonnie Hargreaves

In the south-west of Western Australia there is a little coastal town called Binningup.

There is a perfect mix of people, ocean, and bush - an idyllic, unhurried place.

Go to the northern end of Binningup. Follow the 4WD track for a kilometre. Construction is beginning on a desalination plant there. And there is nothing the people of Binningup can do about it.

Sounds like the typical battle between a tiny, unknown town and the big bad government.

Well, let me tell you, the town lost. They fought hard against it and are very upset (enraged might even be a better word here), but I found it all a bit ridiculous really.

Aren't we in the middle of a water shortage?! Do they want to die of dehydration??

I live in the little town called Binningup. And it seems to me like I am one of the vast minority of residents who are for the desalination plant.

I have every reason to be against it: I live in the second most northern house in Binningup, I swim regularly where the proposed outlet for the desalination plant is going, and I enjoy taking regular walks up through the sand dunes on the 4WD track.

But honestly, there are so many positives!

For starters, the desalination plant will provide us with water.

Many people complain that we have to put up with a great hunk of an industrial plant just so that people living in Perth can have fresh water. Well, I'd like to see where those against the desalination plant would propose to put it.

I imagine they would just lump it on an even smaller town that has even less of a chance of fighting back as we did.

Secondly, all the beautiful bush that the desalination plant is being built in the middle of - there were plans to build houses there!

Personally, I'd prefer to have a beneficial industrial plant taking up a little room than to have a completely new estate built there, destroying everything! Even if some parts of my walk are now restricted, at least I can still take it. I'd prefer to walk on sand than pavement. There's plenty of that around anyway.

I can understand the point of view of some of the protesters.

Noise, light, and air pollution are the last thing we want in our peaceful little town. My favourite thing about the country is that you can see the stars in the sky at night.

Others claim that falling asleep to the sound of the waves is the reason they moved here.

And we definitely don't want smog hazes over the entire town (although we get them anyway in winter, with all those people who have a wood fire in their house (THAT I am absolutely against, but I won't go into that here)).

Though, the government has assured the town that pollution of all kinds will be minimal. See? No reason to be worried. Even the environmental minister has approved the plant.

So, these are my reasons for being utterly for a desalination plant being built near my town.

I think something that people need to realise is that we have to plan for the future now. We need to stop being so closed-minded about anything new or potentially threatening. Look for the silver lining. I found several.

(If you don't hear from me any time soon, it's because I've gone into hiding from the "desal" protesters - it's like a criminal offence to say that you're for the desal plant around here...)